Speaking to the Irish Daily Star, the 57-year-old said: "I'm 18 stone, three pounds. For the show, I want to get down a full stone and then after that I want to keep going down at a nice slow pace and keep it off.

"I've just been an ambassador for Make A Wish Foundation and I'm going to be abseiling down a building in September.

"I would like to do it and be fit enough to come down it. It's called a Rope for Hope."

The former Tesco worker also hopes to lose the weight before her Panto appearance in Dublin's Tivoli Theatre in December and in hopes of finding love.

She continued: "That would be a huge thing for me as well. When you're a big woman, you don't fancy the idea of going out with some nice guy and when it comes to the intimate thing of showing your body - that would be very embarrassing for me."